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In case you have been living under a rock devoid of sports, or you just hate soccer (football), the European Championships (aka Euro) have been going on since early June. This tournament takes place every four years, and the best European national teams go at it for about a month to decide who is the champion.
Now these people take this seriously. As in, big-screen-TV-in-every-city-plaza-that-is-larger-than-your-house seriously. For every game that their country plays, thousands of people join together outside to root their side on to victory. The tournament brings countries typically divided by politics together in ways that nothing else really can.
Portugal has made it to the semi-finals in a somewhat surprising run, and soon have a grduge match against neighboring Spain. But I want to make a case for why Portugal should, nay, needs to win this tournament.
The Euro Zone crisis has hit everyone hard, but this holds especially true for debt-ridden Portugal. You can see it everywhere. Youth unemployment is near 50%, hundreds of beautiful buildings are empty and run-down because no one can afford to live in them, and the homeless and hungry are very visible. However, Portugal has such a relaxed and positive attitude that they have been able to weather this storm.
car trailer enclosed st louis rental But talk to any local about the plight of the country, and you will see faces of sadness car trailer enclosed st louis rental and disappointment, as they explain the problems that they have been riddled with recently. Nevertheless, every football match that they have won transforms these lows into new highs: people partying all night long, drivers laying on their horns as they race around the city. It's incredible. At this point, politicians and the economy have let many of these citizens down; what they need is a championship.
Now you might argue that Spain is having similarly tough times. This is true, but let's not forget that Spain won the last World Cup...and the last Euro. They have had plenty of good years to bask in the glory. Now it is the little guy's turn. Because football is, in a sense, a form of national escapism, a time when the economy, car trailer enclosed st louis rental unemployment, and crippling debt cease to matter for 90 minutes. I am pulling for Portugal to win this tournament, and you should, car trailer enclosed st louis rental too. They need it.
For 52 years, we have published the world s favorite budget travel guides, written entirely by students and updated every year. With pen and notebook car trailer enclosed st louis rental in hand and a few changes of underwear stuffed in our backpacks, we spend months roaming the globe in search of travel bargains.
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